Heaven Piercing Evangelion
by synovial
Summary: Shinji Ikari draws inspiration from a certain hot-blooded NERV commander.
1. I'll do it!

_This is a revision of the first chapter of Heaven Piercing Evangelion, to make up for the long-ass period of time inbetween chapters 2 and 3. Some parts have been rewritten, some additions made, and the opening paragraph has been rewritten in first person to sort of mimic Simon's opening monologue about digging in Gurren-Lagann. As a result, the chapter if a couple hundred words longer. Wish I could say the same for chapter 2, which is still a third of the size. I'm still working on chapter 3.  
_

_Also, I think the last line is suitably more awesome than the original in all-caps._

* * *

**1. I'LL DO IT!**

* * *

_I always run away. When my mother died, I ran. When my father abandoned me, I ran again. Everytime I felt pain and heartache, I ran. It makes sense, doesn't it? What's wrong with running away from reality if it sucks? I have no friends. No one wants to talk to me. I'm the oddball. I can barely string enough words together into a passable conversation._

_"Creep," they say, "that Shinji guy doesn't even talk. He just sits down and listens to that SDAT player all_ _day!"_

_They're right. I am creepy, and I do listen to my SDAT player all day. Anytime the teacher isn't talking, I'm listening to the music. It's not even my music, it's my father's music. It's mostly classical. I don't care, I don't listen to it for the music. When you have earphones at high volume, you can't hear anything else, especially the hurtful comments people tend to make about me because they think I don't have feelings._

_"Ignore them," my uncle would say. "they're not even worth giving a second thought. Walk with your head up high, Shinji."_

_He couldn't say it with enough force - enough bravado, I guess, so his words meant nothing to me. Not that I wasn't grateful my uncle even took me in. He's great, but he's not my father._

_My father... I think I hate him. I don't really remember him, but what I do remember isn't very pleasant. After all, how can he be a good man if he abandoned me? But I still long to meet him. One day, I want to see him face to face. I'll tell him to repeat what my uncle said._

_"Ignore them," my father would say. "they're not even worth giving a second thought. Walk with your head up high, Shinji."_

_If it came from his mouth, surely it would be strong. Awe-inspiring. I could even call him a father._

_But I know that won't happen._

* * *

Today was a day that could only be described as 'different'. Today, Shinji Ikari did something spontaneous, perhaps even a little brave. Shinji had received a letter from his father - the first in ten or so years, urging him to come to Tokyo-3. At first, he had no intention of going. He crushed the letter into a ball and threw it away. A few minutes later, he's retrieved it and unfurled the crinkled mess of paper. It hadn't changed, it still only read one word.

_'Come.'_

He boarded the train the next day, unsure of what to expect when he got there.

The train was well air conditioned. A little _too_ well air conditioned, in fact. Shinji exposed arms and face were starting to feel the chill of cool air circulating the train cart for several hours straight. He shuffled uncomfortably in his seat, then realized his backside was feeling rather numb and stood up to stretch.

When he sat down, he reached deep into his pockets and found a small, rectangular shiny black ID card. It had his name and face on it, though where they'd gotten a hold of a photo of him was questionable. It was an ID card for an organization he'd never heard of before, called 'NERV'.

He checked the letter it came with again, as if expecting more than just a single word, but it remained unchanged. Shinji savagely scrunched the ball in his fist and threw it down the train aisle, where it bounced off the back wall and rolled around on the floor. Good thing there wasn't anyone else on the train to get hit by it.

* * *

Shinji felt sweet relief when the train slowed to a halt. Wasting no time in the freezing carriage, he hastened to disembark and bumped into several people at the door, who brushed past him to board the train. No one - with the obvious exception of himself - wanted to visit Tokyo-3, they were all far too busy putting some distance between themselves and the forsaken city. Standing awkwardly at the platform and clutching his luggage, he silently cursed when he realized he had no cell phone. Audibly sighing, he set out into the sunny streets of Tokyo-3.

Half an hour passed with no social contact, as Shinji sought a payphone in the empty streets. There were no people, no cars on the move, and it looked as though the city's last inhabitants were the ones that boarded the train an hour ago. Seeing a booth, he made a beeline for it and stepped in.

Fumbling for coins, the phone greedily consumed them. Dialing off the number written in black marker on a photo he'd been given in the letter, he listened intently and then zoned out when it spat out a warning message in a smooth woman's voice. It was running on a loop, a generic warning detailing the city's state of emergency and lockdown of communication lines. He slammed a fist into the panel, cursing it for stealing his money and giving him nothing in return.

He dropped the receiver, stepped out of the booth, and mumbled to himself absently. "No phones, no cars. Nothing works in this city."

Realizing he was still clutching the photo he'd been given, he glanced over it absently. It came in a second letter alongside his father's, and depicted, in glorious colour, an attractive woman in her twenties scantily clad and with an arrow scrawled in marker pointing at her cleavage. What kind of woman would send him this kind of photo? Shinji was supposed to meet her today, as the woman had announced she'd pick Shinji up personally once she arrived.

"So much for meeting up today. I guess I'd better find a shelter."

He looked away from the booth in disgust, still mourning the loss of his money, and something immediately caught his eye - at the same moment, a flock of birds leapt off the nearby powerlines, distracting him for the split second he thought he saw a girl his age, standing across the street. He thought he'd seen blue hair, and red eyes, but she was not there.

Deciding he was simply imagining her presence, he sighed, and sat down by the side of the road. For once, he'd actually like to make some contact with something - anyone, just to confirm this wasn't his father's sick joke to make him travel halfway across the country to a completely abandoned city. He stared absently out at the pavement of the road.

Quite suddenly and without warning, a giant red foot slammed into the pavement a few meters in front of him. It sunk into the ground, leaving a deep impression and cracks in all directions. Shinji screamed. It was a high pitched, girly scream, very unbefitting of an adolescent boy. He couldn't tear his eyes away as the giant red foot was forcibly dragged backward, desperately digging its heel into the road, but it could not hold and tore the ground apart.

Looking to the sky, Shinji saw two giants grappling one another in combat. One was slightly more humanoid, and covered in shiny red plating that gave it the appearance of a giant armored robot. It was clearly losing to a slightly larger beast it fought against. The larger beast was only vaguely humanoid, probably closer to a gorilla in appearance, and featured lanky arms reaching well beyond its knees. It was sporting a glowing red orb from its chest.

A young woman shouted at him from the red robot's loudspeaker. "Are you stupid? What the hell are you doing out here? Go find a shelter!"

Carefully maneuvering its right leg off the pavement, and without letting go, the red robot delivered a powerful kick at the other giant's red orb. The giant toppled backwards, letting go of the robot, and landed on an apartment block.

The shining red giant gestured off into the distance with one of its armor plated hands, and retrieved a gigantic knife from its right shoulder pylon. The pilot inside shouted again. "Well, go on! If you get crushed, it's not my fault!"

Shinji hopped up from the side path and made a run for it, as far away as he could in the opposite direction. Just before the intersection, a blue sports car swerved right in front of him, and the passenger door opened invitingly to a familiar woman in her twenties reaching out. It was the woman from the photo.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" she said, oddly cheerily given the situation.

She outstretched an open hand for him to take and yanked him into the passenger seat, where he fell ungracefully and quickly slammed the door shut as the driver veered the car backwards to avoid being crushed by a giant red foot. The red robot toppled over, collapsed and leaning on a building. It no longer moved, and the pilot inside said nothing.

* * *

Some distance away from the action, Shinji could hear the sounds of war being waged beyond the hills, expending taxpayers' money and having no effect whatsoever. With the red robot defeated and its pilot presumably injured, the JSSDF had taken charge of the operation to bombard the giant with as many explosives as possible.

The woman stopped her car a little further out the city, somewhere out in the countryside. Shinji leaned out the passenger window, only for the older woman to awkwardly lean over him with a pair of binoculars to spot the giant from afar.

Aircraft flew overhead in formation, one situated directly above the giant.

"What the hell are they up to... oh, crap!"

For a moment she thought about getting the car revved up again and driving the hell out of there, but it was far too late. She recognized what the JSSDF had in store, and there was no time to escape.

"They're dropping an N2!" she tossed her binoculars into the backseat and screamed "Get down!" while she dropped to the seat and held Shinji tight.

A huge explosion tore up the landscape and lit the sky, the force sending the car toppling sideways down a sandy hill. It miraculously halted on its side at the bottom of the hill.

* * *

Shinji and the older woman crawled out of the torn up wreckage of the blue sports car, and both instinctively shielded their eyes from the dust storm kicked up by the explosion.

"You alright?" called the woman over to Shinji.

"Yeah, I think so... I've got sand in my mouth..." he gagged on the taste.

"I'll take that as a yes. Help me with this?"

She gestured to the car, and then leaned up against it, back against the sideways roof. Shinji followed suit.

"On my go. Go!" on her word, she and Shinji pushed with all their might until the vehicle toppled back onto its wheels.

She grinned at him, but winced at the battle torn vehicle. "Well, that wasn't so bad. Thanks for the help."

Shinji smiled in return. It was a good feeling, to at last meet someone in this seemingly abandoned city who seemed actually quite friendly.

"Ms... Katsuragi?" he remembered the name in the nick of time, reciting off a visualization of the letter he'd been given.

"Oh please; its Misato to you, if you don't mind."

"Well, then I guess I'm Shinji to you."

* * *

For a moment, the JSSDF thought they'd actually killed the damn thing. They'd dropped their most powerful conventional weapon, the clean non-nuclear explosive, right on its head, all that remained should be a charred crater. How wrong they were as the sensors at NERV lit back up, and the giant stirred back into motion, very much alive.

"God damn it! That was the strongest weapon we have and it didn't do squat!"

The official sat down, gnashing his teeth at the huge display. The others followed, admitting defeat. One cursed and slammed his fist on the desk.

Ignoring the irate JSSDF officials, NERV sub-commander Kozo Fuyutsuki spoke up to his superior. "It's flashing its A.T. Field, then?"

The commander's orange glasses reflected the room's lighting, giving him a thoroughly imposing appearance. "Indeed. It wouldn't have survived the blast, otherwise."

"Shall I order the retrieval of Unit 02?"

"Of course, Fuyutsuki. Let the JSSDF continue to waste their ammo, and while the Angel's distracted I want a rescue team sent out to retrieve Unit 02 and pilot Soryu."

* * *

"Thank god my Renault still works, I still have 12 payments on this thing!"

Patting the dashboard of her beloved sports car, she put on a brave smile in an attempt to reassure the still shaking young boy in the passenger seat.

"Say, Shinji, you're awfully quiet about all this. You don't have any questions about... I dunno, about the big giant that nearly stomped you?"

Shinji roused from deep thought.

"Ah, no... I didn't think you'd answer them, anyway."

Misato felt a little bad. The boy didn't even want to ask, even though he no doubt had a burning curiousity about the near-death experience. Did he really believe it'd all be hushed up, or was he just that socially withdrawn?

Continuing her weak smile, she responded. "Of course I'd tell you! The big red one is called an 'Evangelion'. It was fighting an 'Angel'."

"Angel?"

"Well, not really Angels, they're actually more like aliens."

Shinji was about to ask a questions when they drove into a dark tunnel. Misato stopped the car on a platform and leaned back casually in her seat. A gate closed slowly behind them, and then the room fell into complete darkness. An abrupt beginning of rumbling of machinery indicated they were moving again, and after a few seconds of darkness, lights switched on. The car was atop a platform slowly descending deep underground.

"Where are we going?"

Misato waggled a finger. "I'm taking you to your dad, silly. At NERV."

"NERV? You mean..."

Shinji removed the shiny black ID card from his pocket, and turned it over a few times in his hands. The photo was definitely him, and what was really concerning is that it was recent - this was his fourteen-year-old self in the photo.

"Yep, that NERV. You know what your dad does, right?"

He quoted his uncle word for word, exactly what was said to him whenever Shinji asked what his dad did for a living. "Work of utmost importance in the protect of humanity. That's what my uncle says."

"Well, your uncle's absolutely right. Here, take a look at this."

Misato handed Shinji a green booklet, labelled top secret and _'for your eyes only'. _It was a welcoming to NERV, and a general purpose guide. His father was beckoning him, for help.

Looking up from the booklet, he asked; "What is this...? Am I going to be working here?"

Misato didn't answer question. She leaned back in silence, and then asked her own question. "Do you get along well with your dad?"

Shinji answered truthfully. "No, not really."

Misato chuckled. "Yeah, me either."

Upon finishing that sentence, the dark tunnel gave way to blinding orange light. It poured in through every window and bathed the car's interior with an orange glow.

Shinji immediately perked right up and gasped. It was beautiful, and it left him speechless. His reaction was most amusing to Misato, it was exactly how everyone else reacted to their first visit in the GeoFront on a sunny afternoon.

The huge domed cavern was lit by gratings in its ceiling, allowing sunlight to stream through and bask the interior with afternoon sunlight. What looked like upside buildings were protruding from the ceiling, and there were monorails networked across the entire expanse. On the ground was endless stretches of rolling green hills and forests, surrounding a lake that glowed orange.

"Welcome to the GeoFront, Shinji. This is humanity's fortress. The cornerstone to rebuilding our world."

* * *

One uneventful tram ride passed, and the two found themselves hopelessly lost. Well, Misato was, at least. Misato couldn't read a map to save her life. Shinji occasionally interjected by pointing them in the right direction, but progress was slow in getting to their destination.

"Jeez... could they have made this place any harder to navigate?"

"We're lost, Misato."

She was quickly defensive. "Hey, I'm just not used to this place! But if we keep going forward, we'll get there eventually!"

But what Misato was really hoping for, was for one Dr. Ritsuko Akagi to show up and guide her to wherever it was she was meant to be going.

* * *

Ritsuko clambered onto the platform, dripping red water, and slowly removed her bathing suit and diving mask.

Sighing, she realized she knew Misato too well to expect that she would make it to NERV on time. "What a surprise, Misato is late."

Impatient, and set off to find them. She dressed back into her lab coat and headed for the elevator when the lights blinked. There was a good chance this elevator was Misato's, and it was the perfect opportunity for a joke between friends. Wearing a deadly serious face, she stood imposingly at the elevator door and waited for it to open. The best part was that Misato had been waiting close to the door, and she was now face to face with a very scary Dr. Akagi.

"Gah! Ah, hi there, Ritsuko..."

Ritsuko tried not to laugh. "You're late. So late, in fact, I decided to greet you in person, Lt. Colonel Katsuragi."

"Heh, sorry."

These two were clearly good friends. Ritsuko turned to Shinji.

"Is this the candidate?"

Misato nodded. Shinji was poring over the NERV booklet he'd been given, but stopped to look up at the doctor.

"Candidate?"

"You'll see. Pleased to meet you, Shinji Ikari."

* * *

An uneventful boat ride passed over red water, and Ritsuko directed them into a large, dimly lit chamber. The last of light faded away as the door closed, not that it revealed any of the room's details in the first place.

Dr. Akago broke agonizing silence. "Mr. Ikari, there's something I want to show you."

The lights switched on.

There was something big, metallic and purple in Shinji's face. It was another one - an 'Evangelion'. He gasped and nearly tripped over backwards. Curiosity rising instantly, he started flicking pages through his NERV booklet furiously, trying to find the section that mentioned _'giant robots'._

"You won't find it in there. This," Dr. Akago began, very spectacularly; "is the ultimate man-made fighting machine. The artificial humanoid battle unit, Evangelion."

Shinji stared into its eyes, and it seemed to stare back. It was submerged from the shoulders down in red water, and its head was positively huge, so what of the rest of its body?

"My father... makes these?"

"Correct."

This time it was a man's voice. A voice that was deeper than the last time Shinji had heard it, coarser from years spent apart. Shinji looked up to the source of the voice, and his father Gendo Ikari, the commander of NERV, stood there behind observation glass.

"It's been a while, son."

For several long moments, only father and son existed at NERV.

"Yeah, it has."

Shinji broke eye contact, he couldn't bear to look at the man anymore while he was boring down upon him in such an imposing manner.

"Shinji Ikari." Shinji had phased out of listening to the doctor and Misato several minutes ago, but abruptly turned his attention away from his father, because Ritsuko was talking. "Do you understand why you have been brought here?"

He felt increasingly stupid as he stood there. It made no sense, why would they show him this? "No. Why am I here?"

Ritsuko was about to speak, but Gendo interrupted. "To pilot."

Shinji looked up and stared at his father, thoroughly dumbfounded. "What? You want me to - to pilot this thing?"

"Correct."

"But, why me? I'm just a kid! What about that other one, the red one?"

Ritsuko looked at Misato, and they nodded to each other. Ritsuko spoke up. "Pilot Soryu is currently injured. She is in a state unfit for battle, and cannot pilot."

Shinji started to cry. It felt terrible, to be so emotionally weak. "But, I don't want to pilot! I thought you didn't need me, dad! And that's why you left... but now you're calling me back?"

"I need you now, Shinji. The city needs you."

"Why can't you just find someone else? I - I..."

Shinji cried in silence for several minutes, and then Gendo called his name. "Shinji."

Shinji looked up at his father, who continued speaking. "There is no time. Look, I admit it, I am a terrible father. I abandoned you when I could have been there for you and for that, I am sorry. But you must listen to me, Shinji; you are one of the few unique individuals who is able to pilot an Evangelion."

"You're wrong! I don't know _how _to pilot this thing, I've never even seen it before!"

"We'll explain it to you."

Shinji wiped his tears and looked down at his feet.

"Wait a moment, Shinji." Gendo walked back into the room behind the glass, disappearing briefly. A few seconds later, the door on the right side of the room opened and Gendo was walking towards him. Finally reaching the middle of the platform, he stood next to Shinji and gazed at the Evangelion proudly. A few moments later, he layed a hand on Shinji's shoulder.

"Why did you come all this way? Are you just going to run away? We have a motto here at NERV, Shinji. It goes like this..." he paused for effect, and then added with incredible force; "Never back down. Never run away."

Shinji looked up at his dad, who removed his glasses to allow them to make complete eye contact.

"Never back down... never run away?"

"You heard me, Shinji. You've come a long way, and now's as good a time as any to cast off your old self and be strong. Repeat after me, Shinji: Never back down. Never run away."

Hesitantly, Shinji timidly repeated the mantra. "Never back down. Never run away."

"Louder."

Shinji raised the volume to normal speaking voice. "Never back down. Never run away"

"I can't hear you!"

He screamed it out loud. "_NEVER BACK DOWN! NEVER RUN AWAY! I'LL DO IT, I'LL PILOT!"_


	2. Unleash the Beast!

_This edit of the second chapter includes some changes and several sections rewritten. Unfortunately it doesn't extend the chapter like I did with the first one, because I actually like the way this chapter was written anyway. The end bit with Gendo having a meeting with Seele is also removed. _

_Additionally, I added a monologue recap in Gurren-Lagann style. I challenge you _not _to read it with old Simon's voice. Chapter 3 coming soon._

* * *

**2. UNLEASH THE BEAST!**

* * *

_This is the story of a boy who has yet to realize his destiny. He shall pierce the heavens, who have judged man as unworthy for their folly, leaving the fate of the world to rest on the boy's shoulders._

_The boy was called by his estranged father to the forsaken city at the center of the attacks, and inspired to pilot humanity's last resort - the artificial humanoid battle unit, Evangelion Unit 01. Now, he must fight, but can he truly find the courage to stand up and do battle with the Angels?_

* * *

"Remember what I said, Shinji. Never back down. Never run away."

Shinji leaned back into the seat, attempting to calm his nerves, but his grip on the two cockpit triggers remained tight. In his head, he repeated his father's mantra again and again. _Never back down. Never run away._

Glancing around at the interior of the cockpit, he took a moment to familiarize himself with the interface and general shape. As he was informed earlier, Evangelions, EVA for short, had cockpits seperate from the main structure itself. These cockpits, called _'entry plugs', _were elongated metal tubes that housed the necessary interface to _'synchronize'_ with the EVA.

Shinji caught recognisable words amongst the technobabble radio chatter.

"Flooding entry plug."

Orange liquid began to rise from the bottom of the plug, threatening to drown him.

"What the - are you trying to drown me?" He took a deep breath and held it as he went under.

"Don't worry. Once the LCL has filled your lungs, it'll provide oxygen to the blood. You'll get used to it."

Letting his breath go, he started intaking large gulps of LCL through the mouth. It tasted horribly of blood, and it made him feel sick. The liquid faded completely transparent, and Shinji found he could breathe easier with the illusion of air in the plug.

Thinking was made difficult by the intrusion of words and phrases in various languages, the ones he recognised were only the words in English and Japanese. The importance of understanding the English language had increased tenfold since the Second Impact.

Dr. Akagi took charge. "Configure linguistic interface to Japanese."

After that, the intrusive thoughts faded away. The previously dark displays surrounding him whirred into life, displaying abstract rainbow patterns for several seconds and eventually displaying a view from the EVA's eyes, even if the entry plug was technically located much lower than the EVA's head.

A unfamiliar sensation spread warmth from the two points of his head where he wore standard issue A10 nerve clips, the sensation spread throughout the body and made his presence in the cockpit all the more comfortable. If he were asked, he'd relate the sensation to motherly love, though he would never quite understand why until some time later.

Ritsuko's assistant, Maya Ibuki, relayed some numbers to her superior. "Synchronization rate hovering at 41%."

A small horizontal segmented gauge on Unit 01's display displayed the same value, having jumped up and down and eventually settled at the 41 mark.

"That's good, Shinji. 41% is a good start for your first time in the entry plug, and you're not even wearing a plugsuit. Everything's ready for launch. Shinji?"

Shinji gripped tight on the controls. "Ready when you are."

Unit 01 was slowly unrestrained, being bound by several mechanical devices and doused in red water to prevent it from moving. Shinji didn't understand the necessity of these procedures, since it was only a robot, but there was little time to question it. Unit 01's battery charge reached maximum, and the interface beeped in response. A click from behind the EVA indicated he was being plugged into an external power source. According to Dr. Akagi, an EVA's internal battery was barely enough to last five minutes from an external power source, and thus lengthy cables called 'umbilical cords' served the best alternate option to keep the EVA in the action.

Unit 01 was lifted by a railed platform and came to a halt directly below a shaft leading up to the surface. The shaft gates opened up in rapid succession until they reached the ground level.

Misato turned to commander Ikari on the NERV HQ bridge. "Do I have your approval?"

"What, you think I'm going to make us back down now? Who the hell do you think I am?"

Misato grinned. "That's what I want to hear. Launch!"

The force of the launch pushed Shinji down into the pilot seat.

* * *

Around half-way up the shaft, the restraints holding Unit 01 onto the platform abruptly broke, forcing the EVA to its hands and knees. As soon as the platform came to a halt at ground level, Unit 01 was unexpectedly launched high up into the air. The umbilical cable extended beyond its reach and ejected automatically.

Misato cursed audibly on the bridge. "Why'd you have to launch so fast? Last time Rei went up, it was like an elevator ride!"

Ritsuko defensively responded; "Commander Ikari rushed me."

Shinji started screaming as he reached the apex of his leap. It was a well known fact of nature that what goes up must come down. The EVA began to fall, and ungracefully crashed into an apartment block.

Ritsuko piped up through the communication network. "Shinji. Can you stand?"

Easier said than done, the only training thus far was Shinji being told the EVA was controlled by thoughts and movements rather than buttons or levers. There were controls, but Shinji wasn't sure what they were there for. Concentrating as hard as he could, Unit 01 slowly scrambled to its feet, straining on the weight of its own legs, and finally managed to stand up.

"Good work, Shinji. We're unrolling another cable for you. Do you think you can try walking to it?"

"Right. Walk."

Unit 01 took one step forward towards where the umbilical cable was being unravelled from a power station.

"He's going for it!"

It toppled over and planted face first into the ground.

"Shinji, get up! It's coming for you!"

Shinji tried to stand at an agonizingly slow pace, but the Angel was already upon him and lifted him off his feet holding onto the EVA's head with one hand. Using its free hand, it started pulling on the EVA's arm in an attempt to break it. Feeling the sympathetic pain, Shinji instinctively let go of the controls to grab a hold of his own arm, which had been forced off at the same angle as Unit 01's.

Ritsuko shouted. "Concentrate, Shinji! It's the EVA's arm that's being pulled, not yours!"

Unit 01's arm snapped, and Shinji experienced similarly painful feedback.

This time, Misato shouted. "Shinji! Do something!"

Shinji mumbled through the grunts of pain. "I have to do something..."

Flashing back to a few hours ago when he first met Misato, he remembered about the red robot's powerful kick to its red orb causing the Angel to let go. Raising both legs, he performed a similar kick directly into what he had now deduced to be the Angel's weakness, causing it to visibly crack. The Angel let go and howled. Unit 01 fell back to the ground, indenting into the pavement. Scrambling to his feet, Shinji turned on his heel and made a run for it in the opposite direction. At each step, the synchronization dropped by five points.

On the bridge, Misato pointed at Unit 01's internal battery power display. "Oh god, why is the EVA draining so much battery power?"

Ritsuko honestly didn't know, and couldn't respond. She knew that an EVA's strenuous activity could drain the battery power in one minute at maximum activity, but _10 seconds?_

The EVA had come to a complete halt in the middle of a sprint right in the streets. The cockpit switched to alarming red lighting and began to beep incessantly using its own seperate internal power source.

"No... no! Damnit, move!"

Shinji grabbed the controls, pushing them forward as far as they would go, and rapidly clicked the two triggers in an attempt to elicit a response. He swore as the Angel caught up and delivered a blow to the EVA's backside, sending him toppling forward.

"Someone... get me the hell out of here!"

Gendo Ikari's face showed up on a small rectangular communications display.

"Shinji! What did I tell you? Never back down, never run away!"

"But the power's out! I can't do anything! I don't want to pilot anymore, dad! Save me!"

Gendo leaned closer to the camera, gritting his teeth and demonstrating a feral grin. He spoke three words, each punctuated like sentences of their own.

_"GRIT. THOSE. TEETH."_

Shinji was moved and inspired to tears. "But what about the power?"

"You don't need batteries! _BELIEVE_, Shinji. Believe you can pilot, and make it so. Do the impossible, and kick reason to the curb! Prove to me that _YOU'RE A MAN_."

Shinji shivered all over, and then gripped his controls tight while intently staring at the Angel. Deciding that he no longer felt like running away, the EVA instantly responded by repowering itself. The entry plug remained a sickly red, indicating it could not read where Unit 01 was getting its power from.

"_I DON'T NEED BATTERIES! I DON'T NEED CABLES!" _he yelled, and unleashed a primal war cry that Unit 01 mirrored with its own synthetic-sounding vocal cords. Unit 01 tore apart its wired-shut jaws, ripping its own gums and shedding blood from the mouth.

Shinji charged and tackled the Angel to the ground, and unleashing another war cry, he started to one-handedly slam the red orb at the Angel's chest with his fist. The first crack grew into several more, and in response the Angel unleashed an unexplainable surge of energy that sent Shinji flying into a nearby building.

Shinji wasted no time climbing to his feet and charging again, but was stopped abruptly by a hexagonal geometric shapes in the air, like a barrier.

"Shinji, that's an A.T. Field! You'll have to neutralize it with your own A.T. - " Ritsuko didn't finish, she was cut off by surprise and disgust as Unit 01 gruesomely repaired its own broken arm and tore through the Angel's A.T. Field like it was fabric floating in the air.

Shinji tackled the Angel back onto the ground, and snapped off one of the rib-like bones in a cage that surrounded the core. Using it as a primitive weapon, he started to hack away at the Angel's core, eventually piercing through it and leaving it wedged half way in. Standing up, he carried out a powerful stomp, driving the tooth all the way through the core to the other side.

The Angel let out a shrill cry and morphed into a ball-like shape surrounding Unit 01, before rapidly expanding and exploding, accompanied by a cross-shaped beam of light. Shinji passed out in the cockpit, still wearing an inane grin.


End file.
